BBC SPORT
- Formula E breakdown: ‘Unbelievable’ circuits & ‘mega’ cars – five reasons to watch
- Formula E on the BBC
- Races for the series will be featured live on the BBC Sport website, BBC iPlayer and BBC Red Button.
Round two of the new Formula E season heads to Marrakesh in Morocco on Saturday, 12 January.
The opening E-Prix in Saudi Arabia saw BMW Andretti driver Antonio Felix da Costa hold off reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne of DS Techeetah to take the chequered flag at the Ad Diriyah circuit.
Mahindra Racing’s Jerome d’Ambrosio was third on the podium, while British driver Oliver Rowland for Nissan E.Dams made it into the top 10 in seventh place.
Coverage of the Marrakesh E-Prix is live on Connected TV, the BBC Sport website and BBC iPlayer from 14:30 GMT on Saturday, plus a full replay of the race is available on the BBC Red Button from 17:25 GMT.
The Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan, named after the Crown Prince of Morocco and located in the Agdal district, is a 2.971km, anti-clockwise street circuit taking in the world-famous Moroccan markets and souks.
Back for its third year on the Formula E calendar, Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist triumphed in 2018 after starting from third on the grid, ahead of pole-sitter Sebastien Buemi and Great Britain’s Sam Bird.
Formula E: BBC TV coverage, race calendar & results
Formula E – the cool kid on the block?
Recap: How does Formula E work?
Antonio Felix da Costa leads Jean-Eric Vergne
There are 13 races in 12 cities in the 2018-19 Formula E season, which runs until 14 July 2019
Compared to some of its carbon-belching cousins, Formula E is considerably more friendly to the environment.
The sport was developed with sustainability in mind and the aim to “reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible”.
It does this by powering its cars with a battery that uses 100% renewable fuel, and tyres that – as well as lasting an entire race – can also be recycled afterwards. Meanwhile, spectators are encouraged to use public transport to get to events, with no public parking available.
One drawback with battery-powered cars is they have not had the capacity to last an entire race, resulting in the rather unusual (and somewhat gimmicky) sight of drivers having to swap cars mid-race.
That will no longer happen – this season’s Gen2 car is fitted with a battery that will last from start to finish.
With the car-manufacturing world looking to switch to developing almost exclusively electric cars within the next couple of decades, Formula E provides them with the ideal arena to develop and test new technology at a competitive level.
Fan Boost and Attack Mode – who had the power?
Attack mode? Fan boost? Formula E explained
Spectators play a key role in the action during Formula E races.
‘Fan boost’ has been a feature of the past few seasons, with viewers able to vote using an app to determine which driver gets some extra power during a race.
In Saudi Arabia, Da Costa, along with Lucas di Grassi, Daniel Abt and former Formula 1 drivers Felipe Massa and Stoffel Vandoorne, were the top five drivers to be awarded extra power.
There was also a first glimpse of ‘Attack Mode’ at Ad Diriyah, which gives competitors a speed boost after they drive through an allocated area on the track.
While race winner Da Costa benefited from the new feature during the closing stages of the e-prix, Geox Dragon Racing’s Jose Maria Lopez missed the activation zone and ended up in the wall.
How did the new boys do?
Felipe Massa is arguably Formula E’s biggest driver signing yet
All eyes were on Massa – Formula E’s biggest signing of the season – in Saudi Arabia.
The former Ferrari and Williams driver, who was runner-up in the F1 world championship in 2008, retired from the sport last year and has signed a three-year contract to race for Monaco-based Venturi.
The Brazilian had a difficult start to life in the all-electric series during the season opener and despite making some impressive overtakes, Massa finished a disappointing 17th place after a handful of penalties.
Vandoorne – Fernando Alonso’s team-mate at McLaren for the past two seasons – has also made the switch from Formula 1 to Formula E and will race for HWA Racelab.
The Belgian made a good start to his electric racing career by qualifying in fourth place on the grid. Technical problems with the car, however, meant Vandoorne only fared one better than Massa in 16th position.
Pascal Wehrlein makes his debut this weekend after missing out on the season opener due to his previous F1 contract ending on 1 January.
The German, who drove in 40 grands prix for Manor and Sauber, will take his seat at Mahindra Racing.
Stoffel Vandoorne
Fans in Saudi Arabia saw the new Gen2 car (and Stoffel Vandoorne) in action for the first time
Formula E social
Mahindra Racing Twitter
Envision Virgin Racing
Stoffel Vandoorne Twitter
Where and when are the races?
26 January 2019: Santiago, Chile
16 February 2019: Mexico City
10 March 2019: Hong Kong
23 March 2019: Sanya, China
13 April 2019: Rome, Italy
27 April 2019: Paris, France
11 May 2019: Monaco
25 May 2019: Berlin, Germany
22 June 2019: Bern, Switzerland
13 and 14 July 2019: New York, USA
